LONDON – This isn't your ordinary sort of game. Not everyone gets the chance to play in one like this. But Inter will tomorrow, against Ajax, in the final of the tournament dubbed the "youth Champions League". Primavera coach Andrea Stramaccioni agrees: "Rarely do you get to play games like this in your career. We're proud to have earned the right to be here and we're ready for it." The Nerazzurri Under-19s have just finished training at Arsenal Training Centre and concentration levels are increasing, as is the desire: "We can't wait to get out there on the pitch."
Stramaccioni told inter.it: "You can lay the perfect plans for a game like this but the heart, the character and the hunger shown on the pitch can influence the result enormously. That goes for the world's best players, so you can imagine what it's like for 18-year-old lads..." That is exactly why Inter's Primavera team is here in London, in this competition – to get a feel for the big stage.
On the other side of the Thames in this final is Ajax, one of Europe's most renowned footballing schools. The grass is always greener on the other side, but few people know that in the 60s and 70s club directors travelled from Amsterdam to Milan to visit Inter and find out first hand how a youth academy was organised. Stramaccioni did know that but he also knows that Ajax are noble opposition: they knocked out Barcelona (3-0) and wiped the floor with Liverpool (6-0) en route to the final. "But I wouldn't swap any of my lads for any of theirs," he said. "It will be a fantastic game and we're going to be in it, from the first minute to the last."Nerazzurri president Massimo Moratti is also expected to be there, because tomorrow is an important fixture for the club and all Nerazzurri. Indeed it was the president himself, back in 1995, who stressed how crucial it was to rebuild the club's youth academy. "Moratti is an example for the whole of Italian football because he's loved by his fans and respected by everyone else," observed Stramaccioni. "Having the president alongside us would be a massive boost. From him right down to the kitmen we'll be united right up to the last second and we won't budge an inch." All together, under a marvellous black and blue sky.
